Mediators of relations of obesity treatment-associated changes in mood and weight: extending cross-sectional research

Significant cross-sectional associations between mood and weight have been made in women; however, data on associated longitudinal effects and their psychological and behavioral mechanisms are required to inform obesity treatments that mostly have limited success beyond the very short term. Women participating in behavioral obesity treatments were assessed on psychological and behavioral measures, and weight change over 12 months. A treatment focused on physical activity and self-regulation (n = 67) had significantly better improvements than a treatment centered around weight-loss education (n = 64) on measures of mood (overall mood, depression, anxiety), self-regulation, emotional eating, eating behaviors, physical activity, and weight in women with obesity. Incorporating a lagged variable design, 12-month weight loss was significantly predicted (separately) by changes in overall negative mood, depression, and anxiety. When changes in measures of self-regulation, emotional eating, and eating behaviors were sequentially entered as mediators, mood change–weight change relationships were rendered non-significant. Significant mediation paths were: mood change→self-regulation change→weight change, and mood change→self-regulation change→eating behavior change→weight change. They were unaffected by the treatment group. Findings contributed to both theory and obesity intervention architectures via a design sensitive to the dynamic psychological and behavioral changes occurring within weight-loss processes.

Emotion induction in young and old persons on watching movie segments: Facial expressions reflect subjective ratings

Film clips are established to induce or intensify mood states in young persons. Fewer studies address induction of mood states in old persons. Analysis of facial expression provides an opportunity to substantiate subjective mood states with a psychophysiological variable. We investigated healthy young (YA; n = 29; age 24.4 ± 2.3) and old (OA; n = 28; age 69.2 ± 7.4) participants. Subjects were exposed to film segments validated in young adults to induce four basic emotions (anger, disgust, happiness, sadness). We analyzed subjective mood states with a 7-step Likert scale and facial expressions with an automated system for analysis of facial expressions (FaceReader™ 7.0, Noldus Information Technology b.v.) for both the four target emotions as well as concomitant emotions. Mood expressivity was analysed with the Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire (BEQ) and the Short Suggestibility Scale (SSS). Subjective mood intensified in all target emotions in the whole group and both YA and OA subgroups. Facial expressions of mood intensified in the whole group for all target emotions except sadness. Induction of happiness was associated with a decrease of sadness in both subjective and objective assessment. Induction of sadness was observed with subjective assessment and accompanied by a decrease of happiness in both subjective and objective assessment. Regression analysis demonstrated pre-exposure facial expressions and personality factors (BEQ, SSS) to be associated with the intensity of facial expression on mood induction. We conclude that mood induction is successful regardless of age. Analysis of facial expressions complement self-assessment of mood and may serve as a means of objectification of mood change. The concordance between self-assessment of mood change and facial expression is modulated by personality factors.

Managing the side effects of contraception

Side effects are the most common reason for the discontinuation of contraceptive methods. Dr Katie Boog summarises the available evidence on how to manage them Although often transient, side effects are the most common reason for individuals to discontinue contraception. The evidence to prove causality is limited, as is evidence-based guidance on how to manage these side effects. This article summarises the available evidence. For individuals who have new or worsening acne on progestogen-only contraception (POC), switching to combined hormonal contraception (CHC) is likely to improve their skin. Continuous or extended CHC use may be beneficial for individuals with premenstrual mood change, and for those who experience headaches in the hormone-free interval. Unpredictable bleeding patterns on POC are common. Injectable users can try reducing the interval between injections to 10 weeks. Implant, injectable or intrauterine system users can be offered a 3-month trial of a combined oral contraceptive pill (COC). CHC and POP users with unpredictable bleeding may benefit from switching to an alternative preparation.

Passage-of-Time Dysphoria: A Highly Replicable Decline in Mood During Rest and Simple Tasks that is Moderated by Depression

Does our mood change as time passes, and is this change different in people with depression? These questions are central to affective neuroscience theory and methodology, yet they remain largely unexamined. Here we demonstrate that rest periods lowered participants' mood, an effect we call "passage-of-time dysphoria." This finding was replicated in 15 cohorts totaling 27,882 adult and adolescent participants. The dysphoria was (1) relatively large (13.8% after 7.3 minutes, Cohen’s d = 0.574), (2) variable across and within individuals but consistent across cohorts, and (3) present during simple visuomotor and gambling tasks. Rest also impacted behaviour: participants were less likely to gamble at the beginning of a task if it was preceded by rest. The dysphoria was inversely related to depression risk and a computationally estimated reward sensitivity parameter. Our results have theoretical implications for the nature of mood and its aberrations, and methodological consequences for the design and interpretation of experiments.

Managing the side effects of contraception

Although often transient, side effects are the most common reason for individuals to discontinue contraception. The evidence to prove causality is limited, as is evidence-based guidance on how to manage these side effects. This article summarises the available evidence. For individuals who have new or worsening acne on progestogen-only contraception (POC), switching to combined hormonal contraception (CHC) is likely to improve their skin. Continuous or extended CHC use may be beneficial for individuals with premenstrual mood change, and for those who experience headaches in the hormone-free interval. Unpredictable bleeding patterns on POC are common. Injectable users can try reducing the interval between injections to 10 weeks. Implant, injectable or Intrauterine system users can be offered a 3-month trial of a combined oral contraceptive pill (COC). CHC and POP users with unpredictable bleeding may benefit from switching to an alternative preparation.

How Does Adding the DSM-5 Criterion Increased Energy/Activity for Mania Change the Bipolar Landscape?

According to DSM-IV, the criterion (A) for diagnosing hypomanic/manic episodes is mood change (i.e., elevated, expansive or irritable mood). Criterion (A) was redefined in DSM-5 in 2013, adding increased energy/activity in addition to mood change. This paper examines a potential change of prevalence data for bipolar I or II when adding increased energy/activity to the criterion (A) for the diagnosis of hypomania/mania. Own research suggests that the prevalence of manic/hypomanic episodes drops by at least one third when using DSM-5 criteria. Whether this has positive or negative impact on clinical practice and research still needs further evaluation.

Examining the Effects of Facial Expression and Image Presentation on Mood

Existing research shows that “pleasant” or “unpleasant” moods can be primed by presenting participants with “pleasant” or “unpleasant” images (Avero & Calvo, 2006), and that stronger priming effects are induced by images as opposed to text (Powell et al., 2015). However, no previous research shows whether or not mood induction effects may differ based on image presentation format. Therefore, the present work aimed to test this hypothesis, by presenting participants (N = 145) with either standalone or grouped images, displaying either positive or negative facial expressions. We found that both facial expression and image presentation had a significant effect on participants’ average ratings of the emotional valence of the images, including a significant interaction effect. However, only facial expression had a significant effect on mood change. We found a slight correlation (r = .298) between image rating and mood change, suggesting that image presentation may have a slight effect on mood change that was unable to be observed in this small-scale study.

Musik Dalam-Toko dan Perilaku Pembeli: Kajian Empiris di Minimarket

This study experimentally tests the effects of in-store background music on the shopping behavior of its customers. Field experiments employ pre-experiment the one group pretest-posttest. The researcher chooses a kind of musics tempo and volume as structural characteristics (2 x 2 factorial experiment). The analysis technique used is the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of the analysis found that tempo and volume of music did not play a significant role in the amount of money spent, but influence significantly on shopping time and mood change. The research answered urgency for designing the musical environment in the retail stores to influence shopping experience and consumer responses, especially for a small store (minimarket).

DCTN1-related Parkinson-plus disorder (Perry syndrome)

Dynactin-1 (DCTN1)-related Parkinson-plus disorder (Perry syndrome) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterised by levodopa-resistant parkinsonism, weight loss, mood change and central hypoventilation. Ventilatory insufficiency is the predominant cause of death. It has been previously described in 87 people from 20 families with a worldwide distribution. It is now recognised as a distinct TDP-43 proteinopathy caused by a pathological mutation in DCTN1. Its rarity and clinical overlap with other neurodegenerative diseases increase the risk of delayed or incorrect diagnosis. Ventilatory support can improve life expectancy but this depends upon its recognition; overall its prognosis remains poor. We report a patient with DCTN1-related Parkinson-plus disorder, in whom genetic confirmation came only after death.